Jayvees fall in summer league final
By: Rudy Brandl
Many new players got their first chance to impress Hillsborough High head girls’ basketball coach Jim Reese this summer.
Participation numbers were very good and many newcomers took advantage of the many opportunities to play basketball. The Hillsborough girls put teams into two leagues at HHS, had two teams compete for five days in the Albright Team Camp in July, attended other clinics and participated in individual improvement sessions throughout the summer.
With four of last year’s five starters graduating in June, the Lady Raiders will have a new look in the 2007-2008 season. The summer gave Reese some things to ponder during the fall as he prepares for another challenging campaign in the Delaware East Division.
"There’s a lot of positions open next year, including starting positions," Reese said. "A lot of people impressed me and got me thinking about them. Some others I didn’t see as much as I would have liked. We’ll see how everything shakes out in November."
Hillsborough’s varsity team (4-4) played well in spurts but lacked consistency overall throughout the summer. The Lady Raiders split six regular season games, lost to Hopewell Valley in the playoffs and won a consolation game by forfeit to finish third in the league.
The highlight of the summer league campaign came in a 42-37 victory over West Windsor Plainsboro North. The Lady Raiders fought back from a big early deficit, had two girls reach double figures in the same game for the first time in league action and played well under pressure late in the game. They accomplished all this despite missing a few key players who elected to compete in the Hillsborough Elite Softball playoffs.
Maria DiTunnariello, who will be a senior guard, hit four crucial free throws in crunch time to seal the victory. DiTunnariello was the most experienced player on the floor for the Lady Raiders, who prevailed with a bunch of freshmen and sophomores.
Rachel Jackson scored a season-high 14 points to lead the winners. The incoming sophomore hopes to make an impact on the varsity level as a post player. Jackson saw limited action last winter but should play a bigger role in the upcoming season. Megan O’Reilly joined her in double figures with 10 points, while DiTunnariello added six.
WWPN bolted to a 17-4 lead but the HHS girls didn’t quit. Hillsborough rallied in the middle quarters to take the lead and didn’t let it get away down the stretch. That’s the type of ball the Lady Raiders will need to play to maintain their winning tradition on the high school hardwood.
Hillsborough’s varsity team played most of its games without three key players this summer. Kaitlin Capriccio and Janice Jeschke spent a good chunk of the summer playing AAU ball, while point guard Kaitlin Kwiecinski was still recovering from ACL surgery. Their absence gave more younger players a chance to see action in the summer.
"From a team standpoint, we got in a lot of stuff," Reese said. "The people who participated got a leg up on the new offense and the new presses. We did a lot of individual improvement sessions and a lot of people got better as the summer went on."
Reese felt his team’s defense improved during the summer. While young offenses usually struggle, it also takes inexperienced players time to grasp defensive concepts. The HHS girls started to execute better on defense later in the summer. Reese always stresses defense and is determined to put a solid defensive team on the floor next winter.
A younger group of girls played well in the jayvee division of the summer league at HHS. Coached by HHS assistant Lou Foranoce, the young Lady Raiders posted a 5-3 record.
The HHS jayvees defeated Somerville in a great game to reach the finals but South Brunswick had too much firepower and rolled to a 59-21 championship victory. South Brunswick bolted to a 17-3 lead after one quarter and cruised.
"They were just much more aggressive," Foranoce said. "They were the best team and they outplayed us."
Foranoce liked what he saw from the younger girls in the program, especially incoming eighth-grader Kristina Vangeli, who led the jayvee team in scoring this summer. Vangeli netted 15 points and Stephanie LaManna added 10 to fuel the 41-35 semifinal victory over Somerville.
"They definitely worked hard and that’s a good sign going into our season," Foranoce said. "We had 10-12 girls show up every night, which is definitely a positive."
Much like his mentor Reese, Foranoce is most impressed by good defense. He felt the summer taught these younger girls the importance of playing hard at the defensive end.
"They learned that they have to play defense to win games," Foranoce said. "They ran our press very well. When we put that on, they ran it well. They didn’t always do it, but they were capable of playing good defense."
Two teams of 11 girls participated in the Albright Team Camp. The HHS girls faced some quality competition but certainly showed progress as the week went on.
Capriccio, the only returning varsity starter, was the most experienced player to attend the Albright camp. Others who made the trip were Brielle Gerry, Ellen Vos, Rachel Jackson, Christina Mehrtens, Megan O’Reilly, Cassie Brush, Katie Patella, Kelly Nagel, Alexa Vastano, Meghan Shea, Alexa Voitovich, Alex Wysocki, Kelly Gabriel, Stephanie LaManna, Lauren Miska, Kelly Mack, Erin Leoszewski, Julianna Miller, Veronica Zuccarello, Samantha Moravec and Emma Hornich.